60-yr-old National Talent Search defunded; Rs 62 crore to Pariksha pe Charcha

The education ministry’s decision to apparently let the National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) and scholarship die a quiet death from being choked of funds has gone largely unremarked upon in the media.

However, a recent report in the Telegraph, amplified by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, raises concerns around the future of academic support for talented students... and contrasts the current funding to Prime Minister Modi’s personal programme, Pariksha pe Charcha.

The NTSE, created in 1963, had for decades been a vital programme, identifying and nurturing bright minds from the school level through to doctoral studies, providing them with financial aid to pursue higher education. In suspending this scholarship over the last three years or so, the government might have limited the opportunities available to many deserving students, potentially hindering their academic progress and career prospects. Over these three years, the total expenditure on the NTSE would have amounted to perhaps Rs 40 crore — had it been kept running.

This decision contrasts sharply with the government’s substantial investment in programmes such as Pariksha pe Charcha, where Prime Minister Modi engages with students on topics like managing stress and preparing for exams.

While initiatives on mental well-being and psychological exam readiness are certainly important, the fact remains that there is no serious professional engagement or expertise integrated into Pariksha pe Charcha. No subject matter experts are consulted or cited; only the PM speaks — and this apparently costs the nation a goodly sum of Rs 62 crore, for what is essentially a prime ministerial pep talk.

Gandhi Vadra, in her X post, remarks that ‘PR around a ‘vision of progress’ is one of the PM’s hobbies’.

The concern she highlights is that the government is channelling resources into high-profile, PR-driven programmes, even as funds are denied to existing, sustainable programmes that offer practical support for students to achieve academic excellence.

The juxtaposition of these priorities raises questions about the government's commitment to holistic education reform. Doesn’t a focus on students’ mental health and well-being need to be complemented by adequate provisions for their practical academic and financial needs as well?

Gandhi Vadra underscores her concern for the future of talented students who depend on such financial support as the NTSE used to offer.

In contrast, Modi’s gyan on education and stress management, meted out not only to hapless ‘lucky’ students and their anxious parents, but also to selected teachers, comes with apparently great authority — but no practical or academic experience or expertise — on mental health or education delivery.

Meanwhile, as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra emphasises, the suspension of the NTSE has real, practical consequences for students who relied on it to continue their education and reach their potential — and it doesn't take an ‘expert’ or even the nation’s ‘one of the most inspiring Prime Ministers ever’ to see this.

The NTSE (taken at grade X) gave top students of classes XI and XII Rs 1,250 a month, Rs 2,000 a month for undergraduate and postgraduate studies, and finally a stipend of Rs 37,500 on average at the PhD level for five years — matching the UGC junior research fellowship stipend.

So why was it discontinued? Who benefits from its stoppage and how?

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s criticism reflects a broader concern over the government's priorities — that the current dispensation led by Narendra Modi is prone to focus more on public relations efforts than actual practical measures that have the evidence of research or history as making a difference on the ground.

The Telegraph report that Gandhi Vadra holds up discusses the government’s spending priorities in the suspension of the National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) scholarship even as Rs 62 crore is spent on Pariksha pe Charcha.

Meanwhile, the Rs 40 crore that could have been allocated for the NTSE scholarship over these three years has surely been redirected — but where to?

Surely, if there has been a better use of that sum to support the nation’s children and youth, the public must be apprised of it? Such a PR-savvy government having neglected to do so seems surprising.

Instead, the Telegraph report suggests, we are in fact staring at a stark contrast between funding for the prime minister’s ‘personal publicity’ campaign and the halting of the NTSE scholarship.

Meanwhile, it notes, ‘The Centre has been sitting on the report of a committee that suggested changes to the scholarship scheme, including the introduction of separate rural and urban quotas — depending on the population breakup per district — to nullify what it saw as the exam’s urban bias.’

That this leads to accusations of the government prioritising its image over tangible support for students is unsurprising.